The Fragrance of Freedom
by OtakuMomma
Summary: For the first twenty-two years of her life, Amaririsu's world was in a confined room and blanketed in darkness. Until one day when she wondered off by mistake and was given a glimpse of the outside world, getting lost in the unknown that surrounded her. Luckily for her, a raven haired, hard working detective finds her and swears to protect her above all costs.


_"There's nothing out there in this world for you."_

_Sitting on the floor next to the leather chair that the man sat in was a young girl who couldn't have been any older than six. She had a regal bearing about her. High, delicate cheekbones, small nose, deep red eyes, porcelain skin, and long rose gold hair. Her lips looked blood red in contrast to her porcelain white skin. She was rather petite and dainty. Delicate if you will. She wore a white, ruffled buttoned down blouse that was tucked into a long black skirt._

_If one saw her, they believed she was a china doll. So delicate. So fragile. As if she would break with a single touch._

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Only I can give you everything that you need."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"No one else can. No one else will. Only me. Do you understand, Amaririsu?"_

_Softly nodding her head, she wore a small smile as she read the book in her lap._

_"Yes, sir."_

_He ran his finger through her rose locks, as the relaxing scent of lavender overtook the room. Inhaling deeply, his malicious grin grew wider. Such an obedient doll she was._

_"You are so fragile, just like my brother. Just stay obedient and everything will be alright."_

_"Yes, father."_

_She couldn't see it, but he wore such a cruel smile when he looked down at her. She continued reading, her innocent ears never picking up the sinister tone in his words._

* * *

"Oh my. Look at all the stands here!"

"I don't see what the hell you are so damn excited about. This is just a side street market...not like it's a damn festival or something. Nothing worth stealing either."

Lighting himself a cigarette, rolling his eyes as he mumbled about how this was stupid, that babysitting a grown woman was not in his job description. Blissfully ignoring everything he had said, a young woman stood in front of him with shinning deep red eyes at what laid before her. Rose-gold hair reached just past her shoulder blades, cut into a traditional straight hime cut. Wearing a ruffled white long-sleeve blouse that was tucked into a floor length black skirt, with a pair of black flats. Feeling the early spring breeze brush against her cheek, it made her shiver with a smile. It was a very rare treat for her father to let her out, once a season usually and only for a short time. Though, most of the time it was only in a small environment, that way she was contained to an area and couldn't wonder off.

"Better go make use of the time you got; boss said the car would be back in two hours for us. So, go do what you like and look around. Just make sure you stay within my sight." Last thing he wanted was to lose her and be killed for it. He had too much to do for that to happen, like he had the time to die because she got curious and distracted with everything.

"Yes, sir." Not hearing him grumble about being called 'sir', she slowly took a step toward the stalls. There was so many people on this small side street, well more then she has seen in a long while anyway. Her hands were clasped loosely together against her chest as she walked past each stand. It seemed to be some sort of vegetable and produce stalls instead of the food type that she usually saw in the movies she watched or the books that she had read.

She just enjoyed watching others interact with each other; everyone was just so different from her father and some of the people she had to interact with. It made her wish she could interact with more people, but such a request like that was forbidden.

Everything was done for her 'safety', so her father said. She was so fragile and delicate, like a porcelain doll, being exposed to the outside realm could result in her breaking just like one if they were dropped.

_"Remember, everything that I've done, has been for you. Fragile and delicate like a prize porcelain doll, one that could easily be broken. Be a shame if that happens because you got to curious for own good."_

"Young lady, would you like to try a peach?"

Amaririsu turned heard when she heard the question, pointing a finger to herself as to make sure the older clerk was speaking to her directly. When she nodded her head with a kind smile that seemed foreign to the young woman, she turned her head to look toward the man who had been sent to be her watchman. He raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, shooing his hand at her, as if giving her conformation to do whatever she was about to do. Quietly approaching the small stand, looking at the fresh peach in her hand. "I do not have any money on me, ma'am." That was an even rarer privilege. Most of the time he tells the people who go with her to buy her whatever she wants, but most of them don't have money on them and she just hated to ask. Looking was more enjoyable to her anyway most days. It was just nice to be outside.

"Such a sweet young woman you are, but I did ask if you'd like to try one. No payment needed."

"Oh, thank you then. You are too kind." Bowing her head a little, she gently took the peach from the older lady, studying it as it laid in her hands. Her fingers delicately rubbed the soft and fuzzy fruit, laughing to herself at how squishy it felt against her fingers. Raising it to her lips, she took a small bite out of the fruit. The peach was so sweet and juicy, which earned a hum of approval from Amaririsu.

Not being able to suppress a small giggle, the older lady couldn't help but enjoy the look and reaction she gave when she bit into the peach. It was written all over face that the fruit was delicious, with the hum of approval only reaffirming that fact. Sniffing the air, she pressed a hand to her cheek, smiling softly at the sweet smell that lingered around them, earning a curious look from Amaririsu.

"I'm starting to smell a sweet floral scent...not too strong, just about right. It smells so delightful."

Holding a hand over her mouth, trying to swallow a piece of the peach she had been chewing, her cheeks turning slightly red with the bow of her head. "My apologies ma'am, the smell is because of my quirk. I also hope it's not causing too much of a burden for you, some floral scents can be overpowering."

"Oh? Your quirk? My, that's a beautiful quirk. No need to apologize, I love the smell. Care to tell me what exactly this scent is and about quirk?"

Lifting her head up, her deep red eyes just studied the older lady. No one had ever been interested in her quirk before. Not even her own father, but that's because he knew all about it from her mother having the same quirk. "Yes ma'am. My quirk is called Aroma, depending on my emotions and mood, my body constantly emanates the fragrance of a flower that is associated with it. I haven't been able to narrow down all the flowers that I associate them with just yet. The one right now is a Sweet Pea because I feel a sense of happiness and gratitude for the peach."

"Such a sweet and relaxing quirk, it has truly brightened my day. Now, don't let this foolish old lady keep you, you enjoy that peach and your day."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you again." Giving a small wave, she made her way from the stand back to the center where everyone was walking. Glancing to her left, she could see the man still smoking his cigarette while leaning up against the brick wall with something in his hand. Deciding to press on further down, she peeked at a few other stalls as she worked on finishing her peach. The lady back there was really sweet to let her have it, it was truly a delicious one.

Swallowing the remainder of the peach, she felt a small tug on her skirt. Blinking, she looked down behind her to see a young boy staring up at her with tears in his eyes. She turned and bent down a little, tilting her head a little, giving him her full undivided attention. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"M-Miss... can y-you help me l-look f-for my m-momma? I l-lost her." Tears were slipping down his cheeks at the end of his sentence, which made Amaririsu press her lips together a little. She's never had encountered a crying child before and she had no idea what exactly she should do. What was is that people did in the movies again? Oh yes, comfort them by patting their head and help them find their parent.

Patting the little boy's head softly, she offered a tiny smile as she tried to comfort him like they did in the movies. "It's going to be all right, we'll find your mother. Where...did you last see her?"

She watched as the boy pointed toward the end of where the stalls were, out into the wide-open street. Frowning a little, she looked back at the man again. He was still standing there, fiddling around as he smoked his cigarette, not paying an ounce of attention like he was supposed to be doing. Laying a finger against her lip, she had been told strictly in the past to not adventure out of sight or out of the location she was restricted too. Yet, there was a child who needed her help. If she was his age and had been lost, she would want someone to help her get back to her father.

She knew what needed to be done, she just needed to quickly locate his mother and get back before her chaperone notices she was gone or the car comes back to get them. Amaririsu knew what kind of trouble she would be in if she disobeyed the rules, but a small child needed her help. She just wanted to help like the nice people in the movies did.

"Then let us go find her before she gets worried about you." Nodding his head, he took her hand and started to walk with her, making their way through the people. It was strange, holding someone's hand. She's had people take her hand and practically drag her along, but never like this. It was a strange for her. Looking down at him, she looked back up as they passed groups of people, trying to see if she saw someone that looked similar to him.

"Did she know that you were going to visit the stalls here?" Frowning a little when he shook his head. Something must've caught his attention and he ventured down. Reaching the end of all the stalls, she saw all the people walking past and all the signs around her. It was slightly overwhelming. Everything was always dark in the car she rides in, that she barely ever saw outside. So, all this was new to her.

"Momma said she needed to go to the market that around the corner. Maybe she went there!"

There was so much going on around her, so much that she has never seen and it was overwhelming her. Her mind was trying to process all of what was going on around her, that she hadn't paid attention how many turns they had made or how rapid the fragrances she was producing was changing, confusing and causing people to look around for the smell.

Was this really what laid behind her windowless bedroom walls? Was this really the world that he was described that was 'filthy' and 'miserable'? It just seemed...like everything she had read or seen.

"Ma'am, there's the market!"

Bringing her attention back to the task at hand, she could see a sign for a food market and outside the doors, stood a frantic middle-aged woman. She had the same shiny black hair as the boy who was dragging her, and dark eyes. She looked bothered, so perhaps this was the little boy's mother. When the boy shouted in the direction of the woman, her head snapped forward and her eyes lit up, running toward them.

"Kei! Oh my god, there you are!" Bending down to tend to her son, looking him over for any signs of injuries after he had let go of Amaririsu's hand. Breathing a sigh of relief, hugging him close as tears spilled out of her eyes. "Thank god you are all right. You said would be right behind me, where did you go?!"

"I stopped on a side street market to look for that jam, but they didn't have it. When I went back out to the street, you were gone."

Standing back up, she looked at the young lady behind him and bowed her head, her hands resting on her son's shoulders. "Thank you miss for looking after my son and helping him find me."

Amaririsu gave a small nod of her head, smiling in relief that he had found his mother. "You're welcome, I'm just happy that we could find you." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she watched as he gave her a small wave before walking off into the store with his mother. It had made her happy that she was able to help him find his mother. Pressing her lips together, she looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. So many people were walking the street and so many tall buildings that she had never seen before. It was truly amazing, of course she knew this was not the time to be in awe about her surroundings. She really needed to get back.

Last thing that she needed was her father upset with her. She really didn't want to think of what he would say, much less the punishment she would face.

She could smell the bitter floral fragrance that her body was producing, the feeling of distress was filling her heart and mind. Looking around her, she could see people were staring at her and looking around for the smell that lingered. Feeling on edge, she jumped a little when she heard a voice from behind, turning around in fright. The voice belonged to a rather tall man, who was dressed in a tan trench coat and wore a matching mat, his black eyes looking over her face as he spoke.

"Miss, are you okay? You look lost."

"I... I think I am lost, sir. _Very lost._"


End file.
